An
"Inside the Beltway" legal watchdog released Oregon
state records revealing a staggering high number of health insurance
policy cancellations as a direct result of requirements of the Affordable
Care Act (ACA) of 2010, also known as ObamaCare.

According
to the group's findings, over 140,000 Oregon residents will lose their
healthcare coverage as a result of ObamaCare in the beginning of 2014
and many more may lose their coverage when the employee-mandate kicks
in.

Statements
in the Judicial Watch obtained records, which include filings by
health insurance companies with state regulators, directly contradict
claims by the Obama administration and its allies that ObamaCare was
not responsible for Americans losing health insurance coverage.

These
new records were obtained as part of a nationwide investigation to assess
the damage wrought by ObamaCare to the insurance marketplace by Judicial
Watch, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that investigates and
exposes government corruption and abuse.

The
state records were obtained by Judicial Watch in response to public
record requests sent to each state’s insurance division, seeking
the following:

The
number of group and non-group comprehensive (major medical) health insurance
policies for which the [STATE INSURANCE DIVISION] has received notice
or report of the carrier canceling or non-renewing, or intending to
cancel or non-renew, such policies, and for which the coverage termination
date is after June 3, 2013, along with the number of individuals covered
by such policies as of the policy termination dates.

According
to those states that have responded to date, hundreds of thousands of
formerly insured individuals have had their insurance policies canceled
or non-renewed due to ObamaCare mandates. Contradicting claims by the
White House and leading congressional Democrats, the records obtained
by Judicial Watch reveal that many insurance carriers specifically cite
the new requirements of the ACA as a central factor in their decision,
and even inform their policyholders as much.

Typical
of such notifications were the following from Oregon:

•
New York Life Insurance Company informed Oregon’s
Insurance Division that it was discontinuing a group health insurance
plan offered to an association and provided a sample letter to policyholders,
notifying them of the cancellation, with the following language:

“The
decision to exit the medical care marketplace was not an easy one but
the evolving market conditions in the health insurance industry under
Health Care Reform laws and regulations which are named Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act (‘PPACA’) prevent us from continuing
to offer competitive medical insurance for association plans such as
yours. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions
regarding the actions described in this letter.”

•
Another health insurance provider in Oregon, Moda
Health Plan, informed the state that it was exiting the individual
health insurance market there, and provided a sample letter to policyholders
that contained this language:

“We’re
happy you chose Moda Health, and we want you to stick with us as healthcare
laws change. As part of the Affordable Care Act implementation in Oregon,
all of our individual and family health plans will be discontinued.
That means you’ll have to enroll in a new plan. But don’t
worry! We have some great choices.”

“The
first thing you need to know is that, due to changes related to the
Affordable Care Act, or ACA, all portability plans, including your existing
plan, will be discontinued after Dec. 31, 2013 and, therefore, you will
need to choose new health plan coverage.”

In
addition to the records from Oregon, Judicial Watch has received the
following cancellation information from six other states to date:

•
Connecticut: At least 26,451 polices will be canceled in 2013
and 23,504 in 2014. Those will leave 41,169 individuals in 2013 and
38,601 in 2014 with canceled health care coverage.

•
Arkansas: With five out of nine companies providing the number
of polices, individuals covered, or both; the totals are 62 policies
canceled affecting at least 537 individuals. Chesapeake Life Insurance,
Independence American Insurance Company, Madison National Life Insurance
Company, New York Life, and Standard Security Life Insurance Company
all state that their decision was prompted by ObamaCare.

•Georgia: While not all companies specified the number
of individuals affected, records reveal that ObamaCare mandates will
result in 727 polices being cancelled, with at least 1,006 individuals
losing their coverage.

•
Delaware: Emails between the Delaware Department of Insurance
and companies detailing the number of polices and individuals covered
reveal that, while not all companies specified individual coverage,
the total number of polices listed is 4,599, with at least 9,743 individuals
losing health care coverage.

•
North Dakota: According to North Dakota insurance department
officials, 36,875 individuals are losing coverage in that state.

As
additional information from other states becomes available, Judicial
Watch will provide it on an ongoing basis.

The
massive cancellations are in direct contradiction to statements by President
Obama and congressional leaders dating back to the introduction of the
health care act. As early as August 11, 2009, Obama assured a New Hampshire
town hall meeting, “If
you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.”
According to Breitbart.com, Obama repeated the statement at least 23
times in the ensuing years. Responding to questions on a November 17,
2013, edition of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” former House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told the interviewer, “The law does
not demand that all of these cancellations go out.” It is estimated
that more than 4.8 million Americans have received health insurance
cancellations to date because of the ObamaCare mandates.

Despite
these reports, White House adviser Valerie
Jarrett tweeted on October 28, “FACT: Nothing in #ObamaCare
forces people out of their health plans.”

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“The
entire ObamaCare fraud relies on lies,” said Judicial Watch President
Tom Fitton. “According to requirements the administration had
written into the law from the very beginning, the Obama administration
knew that 40 to 67 percent of customers will not be able to keep their
policies. The information Judicial Watch is gathering state-by-state
bears that out. These snapshots of information show that ObamaCare
is causing a national health insurance crisis that demands immediate
action.”

According to the
group's findings, over 140,000 Oregon residents will lose their healthcare
coverage as a result of ObamaCare in the beginning of 2014 and many more
may lose their coverage when the employee-mandate kicks in.